Rajnath promises growth if BJP wins

Rajnath Singh (second from left) with Raghubar Das (centre) and Ravindra Rai (second from right) at the Saria rally on Tuesday. Picture by Tausheen Rubbani

Hazaribagh, April 1: BJP national president Rajnath Singh today vowed to replicate Gujarat development model in Jharkhand if his party came to power at the Centre.

Also, Singh attributed erratic power supply, poor road network and rampant malnutrition in Jharkhand to faulty policies of the Congress and urged people to give all the 14 seats to the BJP.

The BJP chief was addressing a rally at Thakurbari Maidan in Saria, which is part of the Koderma parliamentary constituency, in support of party candidate and state president Ravindra Rai.

“Atal Bihari Vajpayee had dreamt of a developed Jharkhand, which boasts huge reserves of minerals. But, it remained a dream as the Congress has always backed governments in the state for its own benefits. Even a decade after Jharkhand came into existence, half of the population is living below the poverty line, while 60 per cent children between 3 and 5 years are malnourished,” he added.

Singh also raked up 2G controversy and coal scam to target the Congress. “It has committed scams worth Rs 5 lakh crores. A small portion of that amount would have been enough to develop Jharkhand. Go and see Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where respective BJP governments have done great jobs,” he added.

The senior BJP leader further said if the BJP formed the government, it would rein in price rise within 6-12 months.

Speaking at the rally, former deputy minister Raghubar Das said Babulal Marandi, who won the Koderma seat last time, fled to Dumka fearing defeat. “You can understand that regional parties will never work for your development but give importance to their own benefits,” he added.